The Other Ones
by Wetstar
Summary: Before Katniss and Peeta came along, there were thousands of other tributes in the arena, some even went in twice. Here are the stories of 75 of them, a chapter for each.
1. 1st Hunger Games, Rein Fallowstern

**Each chapter of this story will be a scene from a different Games, in order of the Games. Some of the tributes will be the victor, some of them won't. It'll change up a lot. **

**This story is inspired by a brilliant story called The Highlights, written by Kate-The-Great-And-Powerful. If you haven't read Kate's story yet, you should, it's totally amazing!**

** Disclaimer; I don't own The Hunger Games**

I try not to tremble too much as the metal plate pushes me up into the overly bright sunlight. This is the first year, and I have no idea what to expect. The plate stops moving, and I blink, trying to adjust my eyes to the light as quickly as possible. There's a ring of metal plates similar to mine, each holding one of the other twenty-three contestants. There would be twenty-five other contestants if District Thirteen hadn't been blown up.

Almost as if my mind had caused it, there was a sudden explosion from the pedestal next to mine. I feel my legs give out underneath me, and I fall to my knees, hands going out to catch me. I manage to stay on my pedestal, and my hands fly up to cover my ears once they hit the cold metal, stopping my fall. The explosions are loud and shuddering, and to my shame, I feel tears falling down my cheeks. I stay there, hunched over on my knees, hands covering my ears, waiting for the explosions to finish.

When they do, I look over to the right. Only about ten or fifteen seconds ago, the boy from Ten was standing there. Now he's gone. I look back to the center of the ring of tributes, where there's the Cornucopia and the countdown. Thirty seconds left.

The Capitol announcer's voice rings out across the arena. "There are now only twenty-three tributes competing instead of twenty-four. Don't step off the pedestals before the countdown ends."

I stay on my pedestal, doubled up, trying to stop my tears, but they keep coming. How could they do that? Not warn us beforehand. Did he actually step off his pedestal, or did they just blow up whatever's underneath the dirt to serve as a lesson to the rest of us? That no matter how hard we try, we are completely and utterly at their mercy.

Five seconds left. Four. Three. Two. One.

"Let the First Annual Hunger Games begin!"

A gong sounds, and we all stand there, not entirely sure of what to do. Then suddenly, the tributes from Five jump off their pedestals and run for the center, the others following afterwards. I wipe away the tears as quickly as I can, then scramble off the pedestal. My legs are a bit wobbly from me sitting on them, so I stumble towards the Cornucopia the best I can. But my legs are too numb, and they soon give out from underneath me, sending me falling into the ground. The grass is dewy and wet, sort of like the grass back home in the morning. I feel a surge of homesickness, and wish desperately that I was back home instead of here. Why was I the one chosen? We didn't take part in the rebellion! My family was innocent! And yet they still punished us...

The sound of running feet coming closer makes me look up. The boy from Seven is there, axe in hand, raised to bring it down on me. I stare up at him with wide eyes, too scared to run. This is it. This is when I die.

But all of a sudden, the boy falls forward, an arrow in his back. I have to try hard not to scream, especially considering that there's a small patch of blood gathering around the arrow. Instead I look up at his killer. The girl from Five has a bow in her hands, and is reaching over her shoulder to pull a second arrow from her quiver. It looks like I'm her next target, and the boy from Seven dying hasn't saved my life after all.

Or at least that's what I'm thinking before a pair of hands grabs my arms and pulls me to my feet, out of the way just in time for the girl's arrow to miss me. Whoever's grabbed me continues to drag me towards the long grass that surrounds the ring of metal pedestals. I struggle, but they keep pulling me, and then throw me into the grass once we're close enough. I tumble across the ground, the dry dirt coating my hair and getting in the hood of my jacket. I hear whoever grabbed me run in after me, and freeze up. They've come to finish me off...

I'm relieved when I look up and see that it's only Harold.

He pulls me back up again. "C'mon Rein! We have to get out of here!" He grips my wrist tightly and runs off deeper into the grass, pulling me with him.

FATE: Neither Rein nor Harold won the First Annual Hunger Games. District 9 would just have to wait a little while longer to get a victor.


	2. 2nd Hunger Games, Albin Jansing

My name is Albin Jansing. I am eighteen years old. My district is Eight. I have two little sisters, who I protected throughout the rebellion. I have an older brother who died in the rebellion. I am in the Second Annual Hunger Games. There are ten seconds left on the clock. I am going to die.

I glance to my right. My district partner, a twelve year old girl called Psyche, is about ten tributes that way. Behind her, the crater that we're in slopes up, and I can just see the dead trees around the edge. I glance back towards the center. The spear that I was hoping I could grab is too far away for me to get without getting killed. I'll just have to settle for grabbing a pack and getting out of here quickly. Hopefully Psyche will do the same.

The gong sounds, and I leap off my pedestal. Unlike last year, there are twenty-four of us running towards the Cornucopia. I grab a pack and the knife that's lying on the ground next to it as quickly as I can, and head towards the wall of the crater. With a little bit of luck, there's more arena beyond this crater. Otherwise the Second Annual Hunger Games will be over in the next ten minutes.

I scramble over the rim of the crater. Before me, a barren wasteland stretches as far as the eye can see. Every few meters there's a group of dead trees that can barely be called trees, more bushes. I choose a group at random and decide I'll head towards that one and then stop and see what supplies I got.

I start walking, but don't get far before I hear a cry of pain. I spin around. To my right, there's a girl sprawled in the dirt. She's tall and skinny, with dark hair. Probably about seventeen. From the pink ribbon tied around her ponytail, she's the girl from One. I remember her wearing that ribbon all through training. I think it was her token. Against my will, I ask if she's okay.

She raises her head, rubbing dirt off her face. "Yeah, I think so." She raises an eyebrow at me. "Interesting question."

"I'm an interesting person."

"That you are Albin."

I'm taken aback. "How do you know my name?"

She smirks at me. "I know every tribute's name. The boy from Eleven's Mikhah. The girl from Six's Libi. Your district partner's Psyche."

"Impressive." I grin, before I remember where we are. "We'd better get going."

She raises her eyebrow again. "We?"

"Well, yeah. If you want, we could be... Allies?"

"Allies are usually only with your district partner. Are you proposing that we break the rules?" A sly grin breaks out on her pretty face.

"They never said we couldn't."

She laughs. "I like you Albin! You're clever!" She holds her hand out to me. "Now help me up ally, I think I hurt my ankle."

I pull her to her feet and drape her arm around my shoulders. "Okay, let's make this fair."

She blows into my ear teasingly. I smile slightly at the tickling feeling. "How?"

"You know my name, what's yours?" I start walking slowly, trying to match my pace to hers.

She lets out a small grunt as her injured ankle touches the ground. "Bailey Garfield."

"Bailey? That's not a usual District One name." Especially compared to last year's girl. _Heaven._

Bailey smirks. "Well, I'm not exactly a usual District One girl, now am I?"

FATE: Albin died a few days later, by brushing up against one of the thornier trees/bushes. Unfortunately for him, the thorns were poisonous. Bailey won the Second Annual Hunger Games, and never forgot him. Albin Jansing and Bailey Garfield were the first ever alliance between two different districts.


	3. 3rd Hunger Games, Charis Leaver

The boy keeps digging for roots and I keep watching him. It's been about three days since we entered this arena, and I've been spying on him for one and a half. So far he hasn't done much interesting except for gather edible plants. It's a good plan, but not a very interesting one for me to watch. Now, if he were to go around the arena killing tributes, that would be a bit more interesting. But I wouldn't want to watch that.

He straightens up to move on to another patch of trees, and I slip forward a bit to follow him, my arm brushing up against a low hanging tree branch. I freeze and he looks over. I'm right out in the open now. There's no way that he doesn't see me. Instead of panicking and running away, I take the calm approach. I wave at him. "Hey."

He frowns slightly and hesitantly waves back. "Hi?"

"I'm Charis. But most people call me Cherry."

"Oh. Cool. Eleven, right?" I nod.

"And you're Nine."

"Uh, yeah. Have you been following me?"

I grin. "Yes, and you didn't notice me once!"

"No, I, I didn't. Um, why were you following me, exactly?"

I give him a one shouldered shrug. "I don't know! You seemed interesting when I saw you on my way through the woods, so I figured it would be more interesting to watch you than to wander the woods on my own."

He still looks beyond confused. "Right. And you weren't scared by me? At all?"

"No. Why? Should I have been? I didn't notice any weapons on you, but maybe I missed some..."

"You're good."

"Thanks!" I beam at the seventeen year old tribute. I've always taken pride in my tracking skills. Back home in Eleven, I was well known for them. I can follow Peacekeepers around the district all day, and they won't notice at all. I've learned some interesting things on my adventures.

"So, um, do you want to be allies?"

My eyes widen. "_Me? _You want _me _as your ally?"

"Well, why not? You seem pretty nice and trustworthy."

"But... I'm only thirteen!"

"Really? I would have figured that you were maybe eleven. Definitely too small and young to legally be in the arena." The voice is male, but it doesn't belong to the boy from Nine. We both glance over to our right and watch the boy from One walk out of the woods. The boy from Nine grabs a sturdy stick from off the ground to defend us- the best we're going to get at this point- and One gives him a pitying look. "That's not going to be much use to you right now, Nine," he says, as he pulls a sword from his belt.

The boy from Nine's resolve doesn't falter though, as he tightens his grip around the stick. One chuckles. "Suit yourself." He calls over his shoulder "Guys, we've got two!"

The girl from One and the boy from Two appear on either side of him. A strong alliance made from the richest districts.

"Isn't that a little biased of you?" I ask. "Going for the richest tributes?"

The girl from One smirks down at me. "Our mentor told us to make an alliance with strong tributes that we trusted. We both liked the looks of the boy from Two, so we allied with him. Not that it's any of your business."

"If it's not any of my business, why did you tell me?"

The girl from One's green eyes flash. "Why you little-" She grabs the sword out of her district partner's hand and stabs it into my ribs. I feel the blade pierce my lung, and my legs give out from under me. As she starts to pull the sword back out, I hear the boy from Nine cry out in fury and watch him tackle her, the sword being ripped from my chest in the process. I collapse against a tree, breathing heavily and staring up at the sky. I can faintly hear the sound of the other tributes fighting, as well as the sound of two consecutive cannons. I wonder to myself if one of them was mine as I slide into a land of silver mist.

FATE: Obviously Charis "Cherry" Leaver didn't win the Third Annual Hunger Games. The two cannons she heard before she died belonged to her ally and the girl from One. The boy from Nine had just enough time to use the sword against her before the boy from Two stabbed him in the back. The very same boy from Two went on to win the Games.


	4. 4th Hunger Games, Lyla Kild

I stare at myself in the mirror backstage. In a few minutes, I will be up on stage with Lionel Reed, talking about my recent victory in the Fourth Hunger Games. But for now I'm wishing that my prep team had straightened my blonde hair. Curls are too soft for a victor. Especially one with my kill count. Not even Pollux, my mentor and the victor of last year's Games, has as high a kill count, with only four kills on his list. As for the victors from the years before... Well, Bailey may have come up with the idea of allying between districts, but she's not known for having killed more than one or two tributes, and Kalina, the victor of the First Games, only has a few kills as well.

"Lyla?" I turn around to see Pollux awkwardly standing at the end of the hallway. "Um, it's time to go."

I toss my hair over my shoulder. "Let's get this over with."

I follow him down the hall to the very side of the stage where Lionel is getting the audience hyped up, both of us hidden by the curtains. Pollux whispers very quietly to me. "Just give them honest answers, but if you feel like honesty is going to insult them, don't give it to them."

I don't think that's really going to be a problem with me. I think this is awesome. An easy way to make money and get famous? I can't think of anything better.

Lionel announces my name and I walk on stage to the loud cheering of the crowd. I don't bother waving at them or smiling though. I'm hard and a killer. That's it.

After a quick greeting and handshake from Lionel, I'm sitting down in the second chair, watching the recaps of the Games. The arena this year was pretty cool, with a huge volcano off to one side and the rest a dense jungle. The final fight between me and Agathon, the boy from Five, took place on the rim of the volcano and ended when I threw him into the boiling lava. The shot they got for it was pretty good, I have to admit. The lights on stage turn back on, and the image on the TV of me being lifted out of the arena is replaced by Lionel and I.

"Answer me honestly here Lyla; how does it feel to be back on this stage? Especially knowing that you had to kill so many to return?"

"It feels amazing. As for all the deaths, well..." I smirk. "At least they died for a good cause."

"Yes, your win is certainly a good cause. And how about that final fight? How did that feel, watching the lava burn Agathon?"

"I couldn't wait for him to die." What? At least I'm being honest...

Lionel still looks startled. "Oh! Eager to get out of the arena, then?"

"No. I didn't mind it there. The Gamemakers did a good job. Very impressive set up."

"What was it then? Too terrible to watch? Wishing you had just slit his throat instead?"

"No, not at all. The lava death was suiting, I think, since we were, after all, on the edge of a volcano. I think the Gamemakers probably intended it for that, since the volcano didn't erupt once while we were in there." He nods in agreement. "No, instead it was more of an impatience to finally win. After ten days of fighting, it was nice to feel the satisfaction of watching my final enemy burn- literally. But as much fun as that satisfaction is, nothing beats the feeling of doing what so many people back home believed I couldn't do. Win."

"Well, you've certainly proved them wrong, haven't you?"

"Definitely. Especially the girl from Twelve's death."

Lionel makes a sound of agreement. "Quite violent, that one."

"All part of putting on a good show," I say with a shrug.

"Yes, you did that for sure. What are you looking forward to when you get back home?"

I shrug again. "Nothing much. I'll probably keep the habit of throwing knives. I enjoy it."

Lionel chuckles. "I bet you do. Now, any messages for our viewers before you go?"

I lean back in my chair, smirking. "Expect great things from the Kild family. We're victors. Cold hearted killers. It's in our district, but more importantly, it's in our blood. District Two will be great- we have half the victors so far. But the Kilds will be even greater. We're the victor family of District Two."

"Well, I think that says it all." We stand up and Lionel lifts our joined hands up. "Lyla Kild, your District Two tribute and victor of the Fourth Annual Hunger Games!"

FATE: As is shown here, Lyla won the Fourth Hunger Games. She returned to District Two for a while, and when the prostitution of victors started, she was one of the first called up. After a visit with one client, Lyla returned home to discover that she was pregnant. She gave birth to a boy who she named Landon. His fate? You'll just have to wait and see...


End file.
